Kukla's Korner Hockey

Let’s free up the next generation of potential stars like Hertl to be as bold and original as they want to be. And let’s recognize the guys who’ve already proved that they’re more than worth the price of admission. I mean the players who can pull you out of your seat with a stunning burst of speed, a sweet dangle and a dazzling how’d-he-do-that? finish . . . or maybe something else that’s uniquely their own.

With those factors in mind, here are the 10 most exciting players in the NHL today.

10. Brent Burns, Sharks Burns is the outlier here, in that his forte is neither skill nor speed but chaos. He’s a true wild card who creates opportunity out of havoc. “I don’t know how you defend against him, because he doesn’t know what he’s doing, so how do they know?” Sharks GM Doug Wilson told the San Jose Mercury News. “As soon as he climbs off the bench, it’s full blast,” As Joe Thornton said of his linemate, “You don’t want to tell somebody like that to slow down, because it’s just so much fun to watch.”

9. Taylor Hall, Oilers Hall’s game is all speed and power and reckless abandon — hockey’s most intoxicating mix. “It’s the way he gets to full gallop once he gets the puck and heads directly to the net,” a scout said during Hall’s draft year (2010). “If someone is in his way, he can turn on the jets and blow by them or put his shoulder down and run over them. Either way, he’s getting where he wants to go.” It’s a dangerous style to play — evidenced by the series of injuries that Hall has already suffered during his short career — but it makes him thrilling to watch.